The legacy of Chefoo

Growing up and living in Cavite City is a collection of vivid and colorful memories and experiences that I will cherish and be proud of as a Caviteno. There's the unique Chabacano language; the Tamales peanut paste cooked during the Todos Los Santos and Yuletide season; the Bacalao which is a staple meal during Lent; the 'quesillo' or commonly called 'kesong puti'; the townsfolk's untarnished devotion to the city's patroness, the Nuestra Senora dela Soledad de Porta Vaga; and many more. One of the many cultural images of my hometown that people always look back and always go back to is the Chefoo restaurant.

Chefoo, as it is colloquialy called has the full name of New Chefoo Restaurant. Chefoo started in 1945 as a small pansiteria which serves pansit and fried chicken. It is owned and operated by a Filipino-Chinese family who has served and continuously serve the people of Cavite City for more than half a decade already. When I was young, I used to think of Chefoo as a plain Chinese restaurant, just it. But when I grew up, I realized that it is not just plain Chinese restaurant because they also serve Filipino and American dishes as well. It's more of a melting-pot restaurant for Chinese, Filipino and American dishes. One of the reason I thought was, they serve American dishes maybe because of the proximity of the US Naval bases in Sangley Point to the restaurant.

One of the distinct trait of Chefoo is the menu are predominantly Chinese cuisine-infused, but majority of them have Spanish nametags; example are: Gallina Frita, Menudencia con Kasuy, Comida China, Camaron Rebosado, Dorado con Jamon, Escabeche, Pescado con Tokwa y Tausi to name just a few. As you can see, the retaurant has flourished and infused the different cultures that have thrived and prospered in Cavite City over the past centuries.

My personal favorites here are the Hototay soup, Crab Fooyoong and their Sweet and Sour Pork.

I love the light and clear broth of the Hototay soup. It's a light soup infused with vegetables, shrimps, pork strips, ginger, and raw egg which will cook in the broth as you stir it. It's a great soup for lunch or dinner.

The Crab Fooyoong is also great. It is a simple egg omelette infused with onions and crab meat (not imitation crab meat) and smothered with its own special savory sauce.

The dish that I love the most here is the Sweet and Sour Pork. Their version has a sauce which is brownish than reddish in hue and it is slightly different from the other sweet and sour dishes that I had. The dish has a perfact balance between sweetness and tanginess and the pork nuggets are not too tough or 'makunat'. They all go well with the Shanghai Rice that we used to order.

Their fried chickens are also one of my favorites: both the Gallina Frita and the Fried Chicken. The Gallina Frita is a version of fried chicken that is cooked like that of the Chinese-style fried chicken. Devoid of crispy batter, they are marinated in a soy-based solution, seasoned with spices and then fried to perfection. Another is the plain Fried Chicken. This Fried Chicken is more of the American-style. It is coated in a seasoned batter and then deep-fried. What I love about this dish is the crispiness and the chicken's delicious batter coating. What's perfect for me is devouring both of these chicken dishes with a banana ketchup on the side.

One of the unique specialty of Chefoo is the Pansit Tostado. It is a peculiar item for those people not familiar with it. Basically, this is a noodle dish, similar to Pansit Guisado but served with crispy, toasted noodles on top.
It is not just plain toasted noodles like the Chinese Birthday noodles but it looks more like a one big toasted noodle cookie which was carefully toasted at the bottom of the wok.

My memories of Chefoo includes family reunions and other occasions celebrated here. As you can see, it is a very verstile place for events. I think the one that I haven't done here yet are drinking sessions.

Try this out when you have the chance to visit Cavite City.

Oh, and before I forget, do not forget to have a sip of their home-made Iced tea to accompany your meal. It's very good!

New Chefoo Restaurant

945 P.Burgos Avenue,

San Roque, Cavite City